| Artist | Richard Beyer |
|---|---|
| Year | 1979 |
| Type | Cast aluminum sculpture |
| Location | Seattle |
Waiting for the Interurban is a 1979 cast aluminum sculpture collection in the Fremont neighborhood of Seattle. It is located on the southeast corner of N. 34th Street and Fremont Avenue N., just east of the northern end of the Fremont Bridge. It consists of six people and a dog standing under a shelter and waiting for public transportation — specifically, the Seattle-Everett Interurban. Actually, the six figures would have waited for a very long time, as the mock stop faces 34th, rather than Fremont Ave where the Interurban ran.
The sculptor, local resident Richard Beyer, included several subtleties in the sculpture which reward close viewing. There is also some gentle needling of a local Fremont political leader and pioneer in municipal recycling, Armen Napoleon Stepanian. People living and working in the Fremont neighborhood often dress the characters in apparel appropriate to the season (termed "art attacks" by some) to the extent that, when those unfamiliar with the sculpture drive by, it is not always immediately obvious that those standing under the 'shelter' are actually statues.
On May 16, 2004, the heads of the six figures were covered in black hoods in an apparent reference to the torture of Iraqi prisoners in Abu Ghraib.[1]
During the repairs of the Fremont Bridge in 2006-2007, the sculpture was moved about 100 meters east of its usual location, to History House at the corner of N. 34th Street and Troll Avenue N.; Troll Avenue runs up a hill to the Fremont Troll. History House also has exhibits showing some of the most imaginative displays by people who have decorated the statues over the years.
In 2008, after the sculpture was returned to the original location, another sculpture was added just down the street. Known as Late for the Interurban, the statue portrays 1970's Seattle TV clown J. P. Patches and his sidekick Gertrude.